Written on 10:56 PM by Tushar

It is the night of 1/29 and Minu sends me an email containing website of Jim Gray @ Microsoft. We talk about his excellent work in area of databases and transaction processing, his ongoing projects at JHU and Cornell, his Turing prize etc. During our discussion I mention that my advisor @ Hopkins Prof. Randal Burns is doing some work with Jim. Interestingly enough one of my lab mates at HSSL works with Jim in one of the database projects. Minu tells me that she is taking a class @ Cornell with Johannes Gehrke who is working with Jim.

It is the afternoon of 1/30. Two minutes to go before my Transaction processing systems class which is taught by Randal starts. Minu calls me up to inform that Jim Gray is missing! Gehrke gave the news in the class. I enter the class and Randal does the same announcement…what an unfortunate coincidence!

Written on 7:38 PM by Tushar

I landed in US with lots of hopes and also a burden of expectations that my dear ones have from me on 15th Aug, 06. Yeah, that’s the Indian Independence Day.

Well…time has flied and I have magically survived the loneliness, home sickness and tremendous pressure that Hopkins courses put on you. I am happy to see that I have got better! I am better prepared to face the challenges with a positive attitude towards life.

It is 26th Jan, 07 and something ‘overwhelmingly positive’ has happened in my life. Yeah that’s IndianRepublic day.

These things tell me that no matter how far I am from my dear ones and my dear country there always is a special bond which connects me to my people.

This reaffirms my strong belief in the saying from The Alchemist _ “When you want to achieve something the entire universe conspires and helps you achieve it!”